DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 2,300.98 (-29.38) Settlement date: April 9thALTHOUGH THE Irish market dipped slightly yesterday, the banking sector continued its upward trajectory, driven by growing investor confidence.

Much depends on what Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan announces today in relation to dealing with the banks’ problem loans, but investors reacted favourably yesterday to media reports over the weekend that a hybrid bad bank/asset insurance scheme is on the cards.

AIB traded as high as €1.30 yesterday and, although it settled back down to €1.17 by the end of the session, it was still up 15 cents on the day.

Bank of Ireland also put in a very strong performance, closing up almost 8 cents at €0.886, after touching €1 at one point.

The main newsflow came from Aer Lingus, with the abrupt resignation of its chief executive, Dermot Mannion.

The former State carrier enjoyed a “decent pop”, according to brokers, trading up by over 7 per cent, or 5 cents, to close at €0.72.

There was “decent volume” in the stock and investors saw the announcement as a positive development, one broker said.

Two other winners on the day were Kingspan and Smurfit Kappa, which jumped by roughly 7 per cent and 2 per cent respectively to €3.32 and €1.46.

One broker attributed these gains to the fact that they are “cyclical stocks . . . coming off very low bases” and they are now enjoying a “bounce” as a result of the recent pick-up in the overall market.

The Iseq index’s biggest component CRH was off almost 4 per cent at €16.25 on the day, but given its good run of late, brokers said that they didn’t read too much into the fall.

Elan was out of favour, slipping almost 5 per cent, or 22 cents, to €4.33.